Legal Defense Fund for Dr. Libby Puckett

From Dr. Libby Puckett:

There is a story behind this picture of Dr. Libby Puckett with one of the many students she taught and mentored as a dedicated educator and researcher within the Chemistry Department at Appalachian State University. Over the course of 19 years, Dr. Puckett provided hundreds of students with an outstanding education, including research opportunities in forensic chemistry, and amassed a stellar record along the way. The University even used this image to spotlight its research capabilities for many years. But talk about a slap in the face. This photo was still featured on the Academic Affairs website touting the rigorous student experience after the administration sent Dr. Puckett their notice of intent to discharge her.

So, what went wrong?

In mid-February 2023, with less than 30 minutes notice, Dr. Puckett was called into a meeting with several colleagues, her chair, the Dean, the Provost, and General Counsel to discuss waste generated as part of CHE 4640 Analytical Methods in Forensic Chemistry lab, a teaching lab where students perform destructive analyses of controlled substances as standard pedagogy in the field of forensic science. Although she had nothing to do with teaching this lab or the disposal of waste in this lab since 2014, she was accused by the General Counsel of illegal activity, threatened with prison, and shortly thereafter was placed on administrative leave pending investigation. During this time, she was not allowed on campus and had no access to her email or employee information. She was the only employee to be treated in this manner.

The University hired an external investigation firm to look into the handling of controlled substances on campus. Dr. Puckett discovered in her interview with one of the investigators that they had also suggested to him that she could be linked to a student’s presumed overdose death in 2016 as well as made allegations that she had acquired ‘off the street’ drugs for use in the forensic chemistry lab. That investigator quickly concluded that she, in fact, had no connection with the student and had not utilized street drugs in CHE 4640, the Forensic Chemistry Lab which she had taught a total of 3 times (the last being in 2014). The investigator did find plenty of evidence of systemic administrative failings in maintaining appropriate DEA licenses for faculty engaged in utilizing controlled substances in research and teaching. Still, after seven long months, the administration pursued termination for Dr. Puckett, claiming that Dr. Puckett was the ‘supervisor’ of the other faculty that more recently taught the lab, and as such, she was to be held responsible for the actions of others by failing to fulfill her supposed supervisory responsibilities. They also piled on allegations, accusing Dr. Puckett of misconduct, neglect of duty and a sustained record of poor performance.

After another seven months of delay, Dr. Puckett finally got a hearing in May 2024 as required by UNC System policy. A panel of five tenured faculty members (plus 1 alternate) heard evidence over two and half days. After their deliberations, they carefully crafted a 17 page report, where they unanimously concluded “we find that due to lack of clear University policies, no evidence by the DEA and others to show that she had criminal intent, no evidence indicating she failed as an educator, no evidence she was placing students at risk, no evidence to show that she had supervisory responsibilities, no evidence to show that she was given an opportunity for improvement, and according to the clear language in The Code, Section 603, we find that the University has not met its burden of proof to show that there is a permissible basis for the formal discharge of Dr. Puckett on all accounts.”

In the time it took the case to unfold, the Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor who initiated the discharge was elevated to the role of Interim Chancellor. In these matters, the Chancellor is the final decision maker. As that clearly could not be the case, the Interim Chancellor nonetheless handpicked a member of the Board of Trustees to serve in that role instead, in spite of the fact that a Trustee has no executive authority or commensurate experience, and this decision was without any basis in UNC System Policy. Moreover, the General Counsel who had accused Dr. Puckett publicly of being a criminal was, in spite of multiple objections, allowed to be the legal counsel for the Trustee in the decision making process. Not surprisingly, that trustee dismissed the hearing panel’s recommendations entirely and declared Dr. Puckett terminated. To add insult to injury, and in spite of the fact that no evidence of any harm to anyone was ever put forward, the rationale in the letter of decision claimed that “The University may never know the extent of the damage caused to our students or others by Dr. Puckett’s actions.”

Dr. Puckett, as entitled by policy, appealed to the full Board of Trustees and was, again, dismissed out of hand with the same General Counsel advising the Board. This decision exhausted Dr. Puckett’s access to any University-based remedy.

Many of you might think it crazy that Dr. Puckett refused to walk away even at this point, but she believes the University administration must be held accountable. She is now seeking legal recourse in the hopes that the administration will, at minimum, seriously consider its actions before violating policy and process to discharge any other faculty member. When the administration does not respect employment rights, every employee loses. This should serve as a reminder that tenure offers no security if false allegations can be taken as truth.

Please consider supporting Dr. Puckett in this fight for justice and to hold the University accountable for what is required of them: a fair process. All funds raised here will be utilized to provide for Dr. Puckett’s legal representation costs.

The representation for this review will be another $7,500 on top of the massive amount already spent on hourly representation over the last 19 months.